Method of and apparatus for mixing fibrous material and powdered material



Oct. 28, 1958 H v FlRs 2,857,756

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS F OR MIXING FIBROUS MATERIAL AND POWDERED MATERIAL Filed Aug. 9, 1954 :@:l y INVENTOR.

HARRY V. FIRST what c^\ `ATTORNEY ,t

METHODv I OF AND APPARATUS FOR MIXING taties Patent FIBROUS MATERIAL', ANDs-POWDERED MA- 5 TERIAL Harry V.` First, Moline, lll., assignor to The Georgev Evans CorporatiomMolin'e, Ill., a--corporation of Illi- Thepresent invention relates generally to mixing fibrousV material with powdered material, as besttexempliedby a,

device. for. testing,v the fefliciency: ofV airrltersawhereimair laden with dust mixed with lint is drawn through anair. filter:v It; has heretofore b'een'conventional practice ,to mix the dust fand =lint together and then feed, themixtureftinto the :suctiorrend of the tiltercompartment. However, itis well knowngtozthose skilled, inthe art that nomme-than about @3% lint canbe mixed evenly with:dust,- .because-of thegtendency: of the 4lint to form :rolls orballs rather; than becoming even-ly distributed through the dust.

Therefore, since :it is sometimesA desirable to `test `air filters withV dust'havingtconsiderably more.than3%alint mixed'evenly,l th'ereim they principal object'of-nry` inven. tiornrelates-` to amethodof mixingdust andrlintevenly togetherin any desired proportion.;

A further lobjecthas` to do with;theprovisionzofiap: paratusrfor` mixingA finek fibrous materiakandfpowdered material, suchfas, for exampleffdustV and; lint'initanyz desired proportions.

Another object relates to the provision of apparatus for separatinglighter particles of fibrous-5 material, such; as lintfro-m: a mass 4ofisuch material inorderto make, it available for-mixing. A related object Ihas ,to Ado with the.:provision of# control means: forvdeterminingethe: size ofxparticlesiseparatedfrom th'e mass,

These-and. other objects andiadvantagesof my invention will'be apparent to those skilled in the art after'a consideration of the following description iniwhichureff erence is'had tothe drawings appended hereto, in which- Fig. 1 is an elevational viewof an airlter test apparatus embodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the upper ends ofthe mixing compartment and lint chamber drawn to a-larger scale; and

Fig. 3 -is an elevational View of the lint chamber, drawn to astill larger scale with portions broke-n away.

Referring now to the'drawings, the filter test'. unit is indicated in its entirety by reference numeralfS'and .comprises a vertically disposed compartment 6,-serving as a passageway for air or other gas andprovidedwith-an intake orifice 7 in the top wall 8 thereof-andan observation window 13 in one side.

The air filter' to be tested, as indicated byfreference numeral 9, is disposed at` the lower end 0f theccompart-y ment.6. The compartment is rectangular in cross-section and is so dimensioned thatl the filter unit 9 ts therein fairly snugly to insure that the air flow` through the passageway 6 must all pass through the filter 9. The com partment is divided-intoseparable portions 6;'6- having abutting flanges 10, 10', respectively.

The compartment portions 6,- 6 rest upon and corn-4 muneate with a lower compartment 11 of increased-crosssection, in which is disposed an absolutelilter 12.0f a knownhigh eiliciency of .greater than 99%.` The lower, compartment 11l communicateswith an vexhaust duct-'15. which connects with the intake ofi'a.fan.16,nthe rotor PatentedOct; 28, 1958K? "face 2 shatt17 of which cantbe drivenbyiany; suitable: meansv (not shown).V

Onv one side.of'thecompartment isfmounted a'dust` feeder 20.- Air under. pressurelisf suppliedtto the-dust feeder 20 by a pipe 21 connected-with; any .suitable` source: and Ithere is rva pressuretregulatorZZ in the-supplylinerby means-of which thepressuretof theyairt can -beadjusted to asvalue suitablefor the-i:`eeder20.A A feedertpipe 23' extends .upwardlyyoverrtheztop wallrSf'andhas afterminal;v end -24=directedtdownwardly toward the ,orifice 7 -for-feed, ing-dust therein.

The air filter testtapparatus soltar describedtis thef standard vertical. test-'unitspecifiedin detail byt-the Air Filter Institute in its- Code-forfTesting AirlCleaningfI Devices Used -in General Ventilation., Section; l, Unit ort Panel Type Air Filtering Devices, approved ibythe Airl Filter Institute, January 1953.v inasmuch asthis unit isknown- .tol th'o-se skilled inI the art, the foregoing generalv description is fdeemed sufcient for present purposes.vv

Alint chamber 30 in theformof a cylindrical container isa-supported in a generally vertical position `adjacent the. testlcompartmentr'by means-*of apairof'arms Slacarried on clamps32 which'areslida'ble vertically; on .'an'aupright post 33. The lclamps areysecured,inwertically1 adjusted position onf-the-postSby means of set'screws'34. The chamber 36) `is provided with -an access,door.=35.rf

The upper end'ofthe chamberterminates yina `,tapering or frusta-'conical portior1f36, the upper end of -w-hichterf' minates inV atdischarge opening 37'. Similarlytthe lower end portion, 38 ,of the chamber tapers --downwardl'y and has.V an air input opening` 39e-in the lowerY end. thereof. Therlower openingt39 is in -a,block-'40 vfixed tothe lower end ofthe-tapered portion`38.= The lower. end ,41 of the opening 39-ares downwardlyl to serveaspart-fof an'in: jectonbywhich' air `is-.forced intothe bottom of thefcharn` ben-as will ,be described.

Below' the input. opening "391' is-l disposed anyupwardly directed..air blast pipe 45 on the upper endof whichtfis a nozzle 46 providedwith an orificev intheA tipfthereof; preferably in the order of .040.inch inf-diameter: r[The pipe. 45 is `connected through -a pressure regulator 47 and pipe.48 to afcompresso-r` 49, thedrive `shaft 50fof-which is connectedto a suitable motor or source of power. Av pressure gauge 55 indicates the air pressure in the pipe 45 as regulated by the regulator 47, which is adjustable by means `ofta control handle 56 in any conventional manner; Thepipe l45is supported on thepost 33 by a clampl 57 secured in vertically adjustable position by setscrews k58,A` by which vthe ,spacing between the nozzle 46 andared opening 41 can be determined Thevpressure in the pipe 45,can be regulated according to the size, and weight of the particles lof lint or other material that is to be discharged from the chamber 30;.l

A@ mass fof cotton: linty is inserted: into. the, chamber; 30 through the access door 35. The air pressure inzthe pipe 451 isthen brought-up toa vvalue which havefound to. be within a rangeof about 40 to :100.pounds -per square inch. A tine blast ofl air is' directed upwardly through the nozzle 46 into the flared openinge41 and penetratesl into the mass of lint inthechamber.- The action-of the `air blast entering the opening 41 is that of an injector,v whichtcausves a larger volume of air to be injected into the opening 39 around'the blast. This vol'- ume of air rises through the -chamber 30 and out through the discharge opening 37.` The high velocity jet of air pierces'the mass and tears the lint apart-while the larger volume of air carries the linters up through the chamber and out through the discharge opening 37. The tapering upper endportion 36 causes the rising' airsto increase itsy velocityas-it leaves the rchamber;

I have=found1 that with' any given-L pressure maintained;

in the pipe 45 the linters or a certain size and weight will be separated from the mass and carried out of the chamber until substantially all of that grade and lighter will be separated out of the mass, leaving the heavier linters in the chamber. The mass continually tumbles or rolls down toward the opening 39 but is forced upwardly by the air. When the iiow of linters from the discharge opening stops, it is then known that the remaining linters are heavier and coarser.

The pressure in the pipe 45 as indicated by the gauge 55 can then be increased by turning the control handle 56, whereupon another stream of lint out of the opening 37 will occur until all of the linters that can be discharged by that jet pressure have passed out of the opening 37. In this manner the linters can be separated from the mass in any desired increments of coarseuess. Adjusting the pipe 4S vertically relative to the opening 41 also varies the weight of linters separated.

The filter 9 to be tested is placed in the lower compartment 6 after the upper compartment 6 has been removed, then the latter is placed upon the fiange 10 and the fan 16 is started, inducing a fiow of air into the top orifice 7, down through the compartment 6, 6 and through the filter 9, then through the absolute filter 12 and out the exhaust duct 15. The test dust is fed by the feeder device 20 through the pipe 23 into the orifice 7 where it is drawn along with the air liow and is mixed therein by the air turbulence so that by the time the dust reaches the test filter 9 it is evenly distributed in the air.

The linters being discharged from the top opening 37 are caught by the air fiow and carried into the orifice 7, as indicated by reference numeral 60. Since each linter is separate in the air fiow and the same can be said about the particles of dust, the linters will mix evenly in the air flow without any tendency to form balls or rolls as they mix with the dust in the stream, regardless of the proportion of dust to lint. Thus, although it has always been considered that a maximum possible proportion of 3% lint to 97% dust was the limit in testing air filters, it is now possible by the method just described to mix the dust and lint half and half or even 97% lint and 3% dust, if desired. The dust and lint are both evenly distributed in the air stream and most of it is deposited on the test filter 9.

Any dust and lint that passes through the test filter 9 is caught by the absolute filter 12. Both filters can then be weighed and the efficiency calculated in a well known manner.

As specified in the above-mentioned code of the Air Filter Institute, the conventional method of mixing lint and dust is to stir it together in a container in the ratio of 3% lint, 72% dust and 25% carbon black.

It is now evident that the separating device can be used for separating other material linters, if desired. Any fibrous material can be separated and graded for different lengths of fibers and cleaned of dust, seeds and other material. Small grains can be separated from chaff and dust and other finely divided solid material can be graded for size.

I do not intend my invention to be limited to the particular details shown and described herein except as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. The method of evenly blending fibrous material with finely divided solid material in any desired proportion, which comprises creating a flow of gas through a passageway and feeding said fibrous material and said finely divided material simultaneously but separately into said gas fiotv in said desired proportion.

2. The method set forth in claim 1, including the further step of passing the gas flow through a filter to separate the blended material from the gas.

3. The method of evenly mixing a very fine fibrous material with a powdered material in a gas, which comprises creating a flow of said gas through a passageway,

feeding a stream of said fibrous material into said gas fiow, and feeding a separate stream of said powdered material into said gas flow.

4. The method of evenly mixing a very fine fibrous material with a powdered material in a gas, which cornprises inducing a fiow of said gas through an orifice, feeding a stream of said fibrous material into said orifice, and simultaneously feeding a separate stream of said powdered material into said orifice.

5. The method of evenly mixing lint with dust in an air stream which comprises feeding a stream of lint into said air stream and simultaneously feeding a separate stream of dust into said air stream.

6. The method set forth in claim 5, which includes the further step of passing said air stream through a filter to separate the evenly mixed lint and dust from the 7. The method of evenly mixing lint with dust in air, which comprises inducing a fiow of air through an orifice, feeding a stream of lint into said orifice, and simultaneously feeding a separate stream of dust into said orifice.

8. Apparatus for evenly mixing lint with dust in air, comprising in combination, a compartment having an orifice in a wall thereof, an exhaust duct connected with said compartment, means inducing a flow of air into Said compartment through said orifice, means feeding a stream of lint into said orifice, and means simultaneously feeding a separate stream of dust into said orifice.

9. Apparatus for evenly mixing lint with dust comprising an air duct, means for inducing an air flow in said duct, means communicating with said duct for feeding a stream of lint into said air flow, and another feeding means communicating with said duct for simultaneously feeding a stream of dust into said air flow.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9, including the further provision of a filter disposed in said duct for separating the mixture of lint and dust from the flow of air.

11. Apparatus for evenly mixing a very fine fibrous material with a powdered material, which comprises a duct, means connected with said duct for inducing a fiow of gas in said duct, means communicating with said duct for feeding a stream of said fibrous material into said duct, and another feeding means communicating with said duct for simultaneously feeding said powdered material thereto.

12. Apparatus for evenly mixing lint with dust in air, comprising in combination, a compartment having an orifice in a wall thereof, an exhaust duct connected with said compartment, means inducing a iiow of air into said compartment through said orifice, means feeding a stream of dust into said orifice and means simultaneously feeding a stream of lint into said orifice comprising a lint chamber having an air input opening at one end and a discharge opening at the opposite end, and means directing an air blast into said input opening, said discharge opening being disposed adjacent said compartment orifice to discharge lint into said flow of air into said orifice.

13. Apparatus of the class described, comprising in combination, a compartment having an orifice in a wall thereof, an exhaust duct connected with said compartment, a filter connected in series with said duct, an exhaust fan connected to said duct for inducing an air fiow through said orifice, into said compartment, through said filter, and out through said exhaust duct, means feeding a stream of dust into said orifice and means simultaneously feeding a stream of lint into said orifice comprising a lint chamber disposed adjacent said compartment having an upper discharge opening in proximity to said compartment orifice and a lower air input opening, and means directing a fine blast of air at high velocity into said lower input opening, whereby air and lint are diS- charged from the upper discharge opening into the flow of air entering said orifice.

14. Apparatus of the class described, comprising a chamber having an air input opening in one end thereof and a discharge opening in the other end thereof, an air blast pipe having a nozzle supported in spaced relation to said input opening and provided with a line orifice at the end thereof directed into said input openingfor discharging a fine air blast under high pressure into said compartment to inject a comparatively lower velocity flow of air around said nozzle into said chamber, and means for controlling the pressure of air in' said pipe.

15. Apparatus for separating lighter particles of mate rial from a mass of fibrous material or the like, comprising a vertically disposed chamber adapted to receive the mass of material, the upper and lower ends of said chamber being tapered and having openings at their extremities, respectively, an air blast pipe disposed below said lower opening and having a nozzle supported in spaced relation to said lower opening and provided with a in'e orifice directed into said lower opening to inject a comparatively lower velocity flow of air from the atmosphere around said nozzle into said chamber, and mean's l 6 for controlling the air pressure in said pipe to determine the size of the particles of material that is driven out through the upper opening.

16. The apparatus claimed in claim 15, including the further provision of adjustable means for supporting said air blast pipe providing for adjustably securing the pipe with the nozzle disposed at various distances from said lower compartment opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 287,496 Baur Oct. 30, 1883 1,947,852 Jewett Feb. 20, 1934 2,326,438 Clarke Aug. 10, 1943 2,389,701 Truesdale Nov. 27, 1945 2,493,652 Bowersox Jan. 3, 1950 2,561,396 Matheson July 24, 1951 2,638,688 Hazelton May 19, 1953 2,653,473 Simison Sept. 29,1953 2,683,685

Matheson July 13, 1954 

